Barton Hall
View of Barton Hall from Schoellkopf Field
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| Former names | New York State Armory and Drill Hall (to 1940) |
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| Location | Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 |
| Coordinates | 42°26′46″N 76°28′51″W / 42.4460°N 76.4808°WCoordinates: 42°26′46″N 76°28′51″W / 42.4460°N 76.4808°W |
| Owner | Cornell University |
| Operator | Cornell University |
| Capacity | 4,800 |
| Surface | Recaflex track surface |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1914 |
| Opened | 1915 |
| Architect | Lewis F. Pilcher |
| Tenants | |
| Cornell University Big Red (indoor track & field), Cornell ROTC, Cornell Police | |
Barton Hall is an on-campus field house on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It is the site of the school's indoor track facilities, ROTC offices and classes, and Cornell Police. It also served as the location of the former band room, once used by the Cornell Big Red Marching Band and the Cornell Big Red Pep Band. However, the summer of 2013 saw the completion of a new building for the Big Red Bands adjacent to Schoellkopf Field. For a long time, Barton Hall was the largest unpillared room in existence. The interior of the building covers almost 2 acres (8,100 m2), and includes a 1/8 mile (200m) indoor track.
It was built in 1914 and 1915 and was originally designed as a drill hall for the Department of Military Science. Upon its completion it was often referred to as the "New Armory". In January 1940 it was named for Col. Frank A. Barton, Class of 1891. Colonel Barton was one of the first two Cornell students to receive an army commission in Cornell's Military Science Program, and was the first ROTC commandant at Cornell from 1904 to 1908. During World War I, Barton Hall functioned as an airplane hangar and it served the ROTC as an armory during World War II.
Barton Hall was well-known to all Cornellians. In the days prior to online course registration, each student would come to Barton Hall at the start of the semester to register for classes. This process would involve placing punched cards into bins for each class positioned on tables throughout the hall. Student organizations would also recruit members at these events. In the first part of the 20th century, "drill" was mandatory for all male students, and it would be conducted in Barton Hall. Also, until 1974, graduation was conducted in Barton Hall, until it was moved outdoors to Schoellkopf Field. For many years, it also hosted graduation ceremonies for Ithaca High School. Finally, Barton Hall houses the all-alumni lunches at the annual Cornell reunions.
Barton Hall was home to Cornell Basketball between 1919 and 1990 when the new field house, later named Bartels Hall, was completed. In 1995, Barton received another major change with the construction of the H. Hunt Bradley Track Center under the south bleachers. The center includes a Hall of Fame/meeting room/study facility for track, an office, a library and a 1,500-square-foot (140 m2) weight room.
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